The present invention is generally directed to a communications platform that can be employed to implement a recognition and reward system within a school, workplace, or other environment. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a communications platform that can facilitate the implementation of an efficient and scalable recognition and reward system in many different environments.
One problem faced by many educators, employers, managers, etc. is developing systems for challenging their students, employees, associates, etc. to improve their skills and abilities. It is known that recognition and reward systems provide a good incentive for such individuals to strive to improve themselves within their respective environments. However, the implementation of such systems can be difficult, time consuming, and not easily scaled. For example, in a school environment, the success of a recognition and reward system is dependent on parental involvement, but it is difficult to establish and maintain the necessary communications to involve the parents. Similar problems exist in the workplace where it is important that an employee's immediate supervisor be involved in managing the employee's involvement in the recognition and reward system.
Various recognition and reward systems exist in the prior art. However, many of these systems are limited to a particular environment or are dependent on specialized and complex end-user computing configurations. Such systems are therefore limited in their scalability and are oftentimes difficult to use. For these reasons, the users, including teachers and students or managers and employees alike, are less inclined to participate in a recognition and reward program. In short, for a reward and recognition system to be successful, it must provide a simple and streamlined experience to all end-users.